1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the field of radiation protective eyeglasses used during medical x-ray fluoroscopic procedures and more particularly relates to radiation protective eyewear having dual lenses placed in both the left and right side apertures of a pair of eyeglasses.
History of the Prior Art
During the past thirty years, while many new medical imaging technologies have been introduced and accepted, an older modality being x-ray fluoroscopy, which is almost as old as the x-ray itself, has quietly proliferated. X-ray fluoroscopy has become the imaging tool in many cases not only of choice, but also of necessity. It has become a tool not only of diagnosis, but also of treatment. Fluoroscopy which provides the ability to see within the body in real time has moved from simple x-ray diagnosis to use as a tool in a vast array of medical treatments.
With the evolution and proliferation of fluoroscopy, a large number of medical professionals have become engaged in its daily use as well as subject to its inherent problem which is exposure to radiation. Increasingly, nurses, surgeons, physicians and technologists, in addition to radiologists or radiologic technologists, are either working with fluoroscopy or present during it use.
While improving technology has decreased the radiation dose rates from what they were in the past, the use of fluoroscopy as a tool for treatment has expanded, requiring increased exposure times which often offset the radiation dose rate reductions realized by improved technology.
Thus, radiation safety is perhaps more of an issue today than twenty-five years ago. Increasingly, personnel who are involved in the performance of medical fluoroscopy procedures are wearing radiation protection eyewear.
Radiation protection eyewear lenses are generally made from a glass material that has been chemically combined with lead or other attenuating elements, and is commonly referred to as "lead glass." Unlike today's lightweight plastic material which is commonly used for lenses, this material is comparatively very heavy. Lead glass is also brittle and inclined to break easily when compared to either crown glass, that is used in glass ophthalmic lenses, or ophthalmic plastic lenses.
Although the risk of injury from lead glass lenses breaking due to an impact is relatively low, injuries can still occur as the risk of eye damage to one using lead glass ophthalmic lenses is much higher than the risk of injury to one when using plastic ophthalmic lenses. Therefore, the use of a plastic lens that could attenuate x-rays would be desirable. However, no suitable ophthalmic lens material providing comparable x-ray protection when compared to lead glass has been developed.
Another problem arises as many of the professionals who wear x-ray protective eyewear require corrective lenses, and prescription/corrective lead glass lenses are heavy as the weight of the lenses is increased due to thickening of the lenses required by such corrective lenses. As prescription ophthalmic lead glass lenses are increased in optical correction, they become unsuitably heavy in weight, rendering them difficult to wear, especially for prolonged periods of time.